Company Will Contract 15,000 Acres of Flax
This Year and Establish Regional Production Facility by Q1
2012
Announcement Follows Close of C$13.1M in Bought Deal Financing
PORTLAND, OR and VANCOUVER, BC, July 14,
2011 /PRNewswire/ - Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc.
("NAT" or the "Company") (OTCBB: NADVF) (TSXV: NAT) today announced
it has entered into an agreement with Carolina Eastern Precision
Ag, of Pamplico, S.C., to provide
agronomic consultation to the Company and its contractors in the
region. Under the terms of the agreement, Carolina Eastern will
assist NAT in the recruitment of growers and contractors, and
advise on all cultivation related to flax that will be turned into
its branded CRAiLAR fiber including seeding rates, fertilization,
and weed control. NAT plans to contract more than 15,000 acres of
flax, grown as a winter crop, in its first year. The harvest will
be the first used under a purchasing agreement with
HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI) for CRAiLAR Flax fiber announced in
March 2011. This follows an 18-month
pilot program with HanesBrands and the United States Department of
Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA - ARS), which
verified the opportunity for flax growth in the region.
By the first quarter of 2012, NAT anticipates it
will build an integrated facility in Williamsburg County capable of producing
300,000 lbs. of CRAiLAR Flax fiber per week. S.C. is one of two
flax fiber-producing regions strategically chosen by NAT for the
location of facilities.
"This announcement is a culmination of a
two-year process that took a significant amount of effort from
South Carolina's Department of
Commerce, the USDA - ARS, Williamsburg
County, and HanesBrands," said Jason
Finnis, founder and COO of NAT. "We are confident in the
experience and relationships that Carolina Eastern brings to our
team," continued Finnis, "And we anticipate that their team's
knowledge of the region, from both the agronomic and economic
standpoints, will allow us to quickly and smoothly ramp up
production demand to bring CRAiLAR Flax to market," he
concluded.
The Carolina Eastern team will be led by
Charles "Russell" Duncan, who spent
27 years as an agricultural extension agent in the Pee Dee area of
S.C. with Clemson University. A native
of S.C., he worked in Clarendon,
Florence, Marion and Williamsburg counties during his tenure, and
served as administrator for the Clarendon and Williamsburg offices. He is currently serving
as chair of the International Certified Crop Adviser board, a
national program of the American Society of Agronomy, which has
established benchmarks for education, experience and ethics in
agronomy.
"CRAiLAR Flax fiber is one of the most
well-researched agronomic opportunities we've seen in South Carolina in my entire career," said
Duncan. "Between their partnerships with a well-established
end-user in HanesBrands, along with institutional research and the
potential for local financing, we are excited about the opportunity
we will be presenting in coming months and hope for a long-term
opportunity to be established among farmers looking for winter crop
alternatives."
Farmer Field Day
A farmer field day, to be held on Wednesday,
August 3 in Kingstree,
S.C., is expected to attract more than 100 farmers in the
region who are interested in growing an alternative cash crop to
wheat in the winter months. The event will be hosted by NAT and
Carolina Eastern, and will be supported by the USDA office in
Clemson, S.C., HanesBrands and
Arbor One Farm Credit.
The Company intends to leverage regional
sustainable agricultural initiatives to fund a portion of the
capital requirement to establish itself in the region.
CRAiLAR Flax Fiber Production in South Carolina
The Company recently completed winter growing trials in a combined
study with the USDA - ARS and HanesBrands, and has identified the
varietals that will produce the best fiber yields in a growing
season that traditionally can only produce winter wheat. Dr.
Jonn Foulk, Research Scientist, USDA
-ARS, assited the team with the research. He has studied flax
production in the region for nearly a decade.
"As a winter crop, we found that South Carolina offers significant upsides to
growing varietals of flax that are needed to produce CRAiLAR
fiber," said Dr. Foulk. "The climate is ideal, the fertilization
and weed control are minimal and the winter rainfall provides
adequate irrigation. Additionally, production in the southeastern
U.S. has the potential to enhance rural economic growth and to
supply a natural domestic source of fiber to industries."
In August 2010 NAT
signed a ten month sublease on a facility in Kingstree, S.C., where it scaled-up flax fiber
production by conducting the decortication process of CRAiLAR Flax
fiber. The facility was originally established to conduct
processing of flax fiber under a USDA initiative.
Companies with which NAT is currently engaged in
purchasing or development agreements include Georgia-Pacific, Levi
Strauss & Company, Cintas Corporation, Ashland Inc., and
HanesBrands.
Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc.
Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. develops renewable and
environmentally sustainable biomass resources from flax, hemp and
other bast fibers. The Company, through its wholly owned
subsidiary, CRAiLAR® Fiber Technologies Inc., has developed
proprietary technologies for production of bast fibers, cellulose
pulp, and their resulting by-products in collaboration with
Canada's National Research Council. CRAiLAR technology
offers cost-effective and environmentally sustainable processing
and production of natural, bast fibers resulting in increased
performance characteristics for use in textile, industrial, energy,
medical and composite material applications. The Company was
founded in 1998 as a provider of environmentally friendly, socially
responsible clothing. For more information, visit
www.naturallyadvanced.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
This news release includes certain statements
that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in
this news release, other than statements of historical facts, are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements or
information are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties
which could cause actual events or results to differ from those
reflected in the forward-looking statements or information and
including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties relating to:
any market interruptions that may delay the trading of the
Company's shares, technological and operational challenges, needs
for additional capital, changes in consumer preferences, market
acceptance and technological changes, dependence on manufacturing
and material supplies providers, international operations,
competition, regulatory restrictions and the loss of key employees.
In addition, the Company's business and operations are subject to
the risks set forth in the Company's most recent Form 10-K, Form
10-Q and other SEC filings which are available through EDGAR at
www.sec.gov. These are among the primary risks we foresee
at the present time. The Company assumes no obligation to update
the forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc.